"I know the reason in which it was done at that time, but I'm not going to broadcast it," O's manager Buck Showalter said of putting the team's roster at 39. "It has nothing to do with a pending move that I'm aware of. But it does open up some possibilities of it, if you have somebody not on the roster that you want to bring up. It's always good to have that maneuverability, that's some of it.

"But why that timing? I know why. But I would be put on 'double-secret probation' if I told."

Adams, 26, batted .214/.295/.371 (15-for-70) with two homers and eight RBIs in 21 games for Triple-A Norfolk. He was claimed off waivers from Cleveland on March 22 and optioned to Norfolk on March 23.

The O's, who called up reliever Brad Brach prior to Friday's series opener in Minneapolis, are still recovering from a doubleheader on Thursday and may need to adjust their bullpen again if they don't get some deep starts the next few days.